Guardians of the City
by Hecatenna
Summary: Thieves and scoundrels thrive in Burgress. There is a sharp divide between glittering elite and the poor. . A ragtag group of thieves and pickpockets, Lords of Crime and assassins with strange powers, the Guardians protect the children of the city. But when three children enter the city everything changes. T for safety. Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons AU. Bad at summaries, sorry
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys! A new fanfic for ROTG! And I guess a Brave, Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon fanfic as well. There will be some romance. Some. Not a lot, and nothing too heavy, because I don't really do romance. It'll be JackXRapunzel and HiccupXMerida. If you want to change it leave a review._

_Okay, I know I have a couple other fanfics going right now, but until Frosted Christmas gets some more feedback it's kind of paused for the moment. I know, I know, I should write only because I love writing sooo much, and I do, but when I'm attempting a 30+ chapter story I generally will only finish them if I,_

_a. Have the plotline written out in my head (sorry fans of S.H.I.E.L.D Prep)_

_b. Feel like readers really want to know what's going to happen next_

_I'm only human guys. I love it when people write reviews. It makes my day. After all… I live for the applause, live for the applause- *stops random dance party* oh right. What was I talking about? Since I despise the 300 character limit for summaries here is a more detailed one below._

_Also, this is a urban fantasy. So magic and whatnot in a somewhat dystopian city._

_Summary: Thieves and scoundrels thrive in Burgress. There is a sharp divide between glittering elite and the poor. Children are left behind, forgotten. The Guardians were supposed to fix that. A ragtag group of thieves and pickpockets, Lords of Crime and assassins with strange powers, the Guardians protect the children of the city from those who would take advantage of them. When three newcomers come into the city the power balance shifts. A girl running from fate with a uncanny talent with a bow, a boy with a mysterious egg and a girl whose lies are as tangled as her hair will find a uneasy place with the Guardians. But when some thing something threatens the children do they have what it takes to defeat their enemies?_

_Please, please, please review my story if you like it. Or favorite it. Or watch it. _

_Sorry for the long authors note. Without further ado, I present to you, Guardians of the City!_

**Merida**

She'd never been in such a big city. Never seen so many people in the streets, so many people hungry. Never seen such riches. A woman with glittering runes inscribed on her skin floated down the street, her dress shimmering in the sun. Merida stopped and stared, mouth wide open. Her hair was the same fiery shade of Merida's but it was sleek and smooth, floating in the air.

"Stupid girl. No use starin at somethin you can't get." She muttered to herself. Sighing, she tightened her grip on her bow and continued her trudge down the street when she felt someone bump into her, making her stumble.

"Hey! Watch where yer goin! You have eyes, yeah? Use em!" The boy that bumped into her smirked and said,

"Sorry. I'll be more careful later." His hair was a shock of snow white against the dark streets and his electric blue eyes seemed to glow.

"S'okay." Merida said grumpily. She looked up, but the boy was gone in the crows. Sighing, she reached down into one of the pockets in her cargo pants for reassurance to make sure nothing had fallen out. Her fingers grazed the bag of herbs the witch had given her and the sheet of paper, but her golden brooch was missing. The only memories she had of her family, gone. Merida scanned the area around her feet but it was gone. Someone had stolen it.

She had made sure no one had touched her in the street except- except for that boy.

"Damn you." She muttered. The brooch was with the boy. The boy- where was he? He was a pickpocket obviously, so he must be going to pawn her brooch off. Pawn shops, pawn shops, had she seen one on her way to the market? There was one in the area, she was sure of it.

"'Scuse me, sorry ta bother you, but is there a pawn shop in tha area?" The woman looked down her nose at Merida and sniped,

"Yes, around the corner to the right. They won't take much for your rags though. Try selling something else." Merida could feel her face growing red.

"Sorry ta muddy up yer day then. Hope you have a horrible evenin," she muttered as she sprinted away from the woman. The streets were crowded but Merida managed to push her way through until she saw the shop. She almost missed it because one of the letters on the front of the store had faded so it read AWN SHOP.

A bell rang as she pushed her way into the store, dust motes floating in the air. And sure enough, the boy was there. His hood was up but she would recognize those eyes anywhere. He had a wooden staff in one hand and her brooch in the other.

"Hey! Y'THERE! I want my brooch back! I know you stole it." The boy looked up, surprised. He smirked, but Merida thought she saw a glint of surprise in his eyes.

"I found it on the ground, Red. Finders, keepers, losers, weepers. Sorry." Merida felt her face start to flame.

"M'name is _not _Red, firstly, and second I want the brooch back." Somewhere inside herself Merida knew that her next move wasn't exactly logical, but she pulled out her bow anyway and knocked an arrow. She hadn't missed a shot since she was five, so it was safe to say that this boy wouldn't be stealing from anyone soon if he didn't hand over the brooch.

"Hey, hey, take it outside!" the shopkeeper said nervously. He pulled of his glasses and started to polish them, but Merida could see his hands shaking. "And Jack, don't come back until you have something to pawn that isn't stolen."

"S'not stolen Grimby, I _found _it. There's a big difference." Jack shifted slightly so his wooden staff was pointed at Merida.

"Now put your bow away unless you want to still frozen until the end of time." His voice was steady and confident, but Merida scoffed.

"Yer gonna challenge me with a stick? C'mon, this is too easy." The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

Jack snickered. "You know, technically your bow was carved out of a stick, as was your arrows. I'm hungry and tired. Now we can do this two ways. Leave or get turned into a giant ice cube." Merida growled and pulled the arrow back farther. Jack sighed took a deep breath. The staff was starting to glow when a tall man with dusty brown hair and boomerangs strapped to his back entered the shop and lifted Jack by the scruff of his neck and deposited him on the ground.

"Crikey Mate, you can't seem to get away from trouble, can you?" Merida heard the man mutter. She adjusted her aim until it was pointed at the taller man's head. The boomerangs were more of a threat than a wooden stick in her opinion, even if the stick glowed.

"Bunny, your timing is horrible. And just so you know, I was wrapping this up neatly." Merida snickered quietly. The man's name was Bunny? Suddenly he seemed a lot less intimidating. Jack sighed and muttered something in Bunny's ear. He groaned and said slightly louder,

"Y'make a mess wherever you go, you know that? Oh well, I'll clean this one up for you." Bunny stood and took a step towards her. Merida lowered her aim and fired. The arrow had flown straight and true, right where he was standing but he was gone. She heard a voice behind her before her stomach dropped and she felt like she was falling down a hole.

"Name's Bunnymond. M'friend Jack and I are somewhat pleased ta make your acquaintance. We might not 'ave to kill you. Cross your fingers mate."

_You like? Please comment, review of favorite! (Small hint, Hiccup's up next :D)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to everyone who faved, reviewed or watched chapter one! (Yeah, it was only two people but you know, it counts.) I'm changing the way Merida speaks- instead of saying you she's going to say yeh from now on. _

_I also want to explain the pairings and why they are the way they are early on. In my mind Merida and Jack are both very outgoing, mischievous people. While some people may think this would make them a good couple in my opinion I think that two strong personalities in a relationship would be over the top, and upset both parties. Rapunzel and Hiccup are both calmer, and if they were together they would get along well but they also wouldn't have a very interesting, daring relationship. Instead Hiccup balances Merida out, and Rapunzel balances Jack. Anyway, sorry for the rant. Please, enjoy!_

**Hiccup **

"Why are you here?" the large man roared in a thick Russian accent. He reminded Hiccup of his father, only taller and with tattoos running down his arms. "Are you spy from other Crime Lords?" the man shook his head and sighed. "I always know Baerbera was vile old hag. This just like her, try to sneak someone under my nose. Well I fool her, I know it in my belly." He muttered in a lower tone.

Hiccup gulped and tried to regain his remaining threads of courage. Where was Merida when he needed her? The two had come into the city together after they met in the countryside. The flame haired girl sometimes intimidated Hiccup with her wildness, but all in all it was a pretty good deal. She fended off the pickpockets and thieves while Hiccup focused on procuring money by telling jokes in taverns.

"I- I- I- I'm from B-Berk. I just came to tell a jokes in a tavern but when I told a certain one about Santa Clauses's naughty list, and how I was on it th-th-the landlord l-l-looked at me funny and then you c-c-c-came in and snatched me away." The man sighed and a spark of relief flashed in his eyes.

"What you name?" he asked in a calmer tone.

"H-Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III." The man laughed a big deep belly laugh. Hiccup felt his face grow red. His name wasn't really _that_ funny. Merida had laughed the same way when he told her.

"Well, Hiccup, my name is North. My code name Santa Claus, which why you brought here. Wrong joke my friend, wrong joke. Sadly can't let you go because you seen too much. But you can stay here and work for me. What you like to do?"

"Er… I like to tinker with things. Learning as well. And-" Hiccup wracked his mind for the other things he liked to do. He wasn't really interested in fighting like his father wanted him to be, and he wasn't particularly strong in magic or potions, which he supposed might be of use the 'Crime Lord' in front of him. "Um… I love kids?" At the mention of children a slow smile curved over North's face, such a contrast to his previous roaring.

"Ach." He said gently. "Maybe there is place for you here." Hiccup was thrilled that North wasn't screaming at him and all, but there was still the reoccurring issue that North had mentioned he couldn't let him leave.

"And about the whole not leaving thing? Am I your prisoner now?" Hiccup said the last bit jokingly, although he really was afraid of the answer. North looked abashed for a few minutes.

"Ach… prisoner such a harsh term. Let's call you… guest?" The last bit was said hopefully, but Hiccup slumped down and buried his head in his hands anyway. This whole situation was hopeless. A sudden vibration in his pack made him look up in surprise. Dragon's eyes, he cursed. What was wrong with the egg? Had he crushed it? Looking over his shoulder to make sure that North was pre-occupied, Hiccup opened his backpack. He reached in and cradled the egg, it's deep black surface catching the light and shifting into a myriad of colors.

"North! We 'ave a problem 'ere!" The loud voice made Hiccup jump as he shoved the egg back into his bag and whipped around. A tall man with dusty brown hair and tribal runes inscribed on his arms was carrying a teenage boy with white hair by the scruff of his neck in one hand and a girl with flaming red hair in the other. The room's large doors slammed shut and Hiccup was able to get a closer look at the girl. She looked a lot like Merida now that he thought about it, but why would she be here?

"Merida?" Hiccup said tentatively. The girl looked up and broke into a beaming smile.

"Hiccup!" she screamed. "Tha yeh are!" Hiccup ran forward and tried to have a conversation, although it was more difficult when she was dangling above the ground. The boy on the other hand had already been released and was slouching in the corner looking bored. Hiccup was about to say something when Merida held a finger up to her lips and shifter her eyes to the left. The tall man and North was having a conversation that looked like it was supposed to be secret but in reality was quite loud due to the face Merida was dangling right beneath their mouths and Hiccup was right under her.

"Looks like Red here knows the other boy. Whaddya say we do 'ith 'em? Can't kill 'em, Jack says technically they're still children so it would go against the code and whatnot. Says we should do what we did for 'im." North frowned thoughtfully.

"Aye Bunny, Jack is right. I've already offered Hiccup a-" Hiccup snickered. The man's name was bunny? Merida winked at him from above, so he guessed that she thought it was funny as well.

"Bless you," said Bunny automatically.

North looked confused. "What? Why you say bless you?"

"Didn't you just sneeze?" North let out a deep rumbling belly laugh.

"Oh, no, boy's name is Hiccup!" Bunny smirked and said,

"Poor bloke. Wonder what his mother was thinking." Hiccup felt his face grow red. It wasn't really his fault, in fact in Berk names like Ruffnut and Astrid were fairly common.

"Focus Bunny!" North said, sighing over how easily they got sidetracked. "Sometimes is easy to forget I'm one of Lords of Crime with how you distract me. Do we kill them or not? The boy says he likes children. They could be useful. He says he is good with tinkering too." Bunny frowned and turned to Merida.

"D'ya like kids?" He growled in a low voice. Merida's face turned pale, but she said quietly,

"Aye, I miss me brothers sometimes. I like 'em well enough I suppose."

"It's done then!" North said loudly. "Right, Jack, take them through orientation and fill them in with what they need to know." The boy in the corner must have been jack because she said sarcastically,

"North, we didn't have orientation until five seconds ago." North beamed.

"Now we do! Great idea, I know." Jack rolled his eyes and walked over to Hiccup and Merida.

"Come on now, got lots to do in little time. Follow me." Bunny released Merida so she walked over to Hiccup as they followed Jack out the door. They had just stepped outside the room when they saw Jack trip over a long, thick, coil of golden hair. Hiccup's eyes followed the coil until he saw it connected to the head of a girl being hauled in by a petite woman with magenta, turquoise and lime streaks in her dark hair.

"North!" she called. "I have a situation!" North didn't even look up, he just sighed and roared,

"Let me guess! It is a child, am I right?"

_Yup, Rapunzel next. Please, if you like leave a review, favorite or watch the story. It really makes my day._


	3. Chapter 3

_Hola mi amigos. So, guys, I have had a few faves and only one review. Come on guys, I know you can do better than this! Please, for me? I love it when I see reviews or faves or follows, it makes my day._

_This is kind of a… snarly chapter. Lots of insults tossed around. Well, more than usual with Jack involved. And it's a tad longer. If you like it I can try to make my chapters more lengthy._

**Rapunzel**

Sometimes when the stars were bright in the sky Rapunzel missed Flynn.

Sometimes when the stars were bright in the sky Rapunzel cried until she couldn't cry anymore.

Sometimes when the stars were bright in the sky Rapunzel ripped apart photos, or drew devil's horns on Flynn's face.

Sometimes when the stars are bright in the sky you get kidnapped by a woman who's even shorter than you are.

Some night are horrible, and tonight was one of those nights.

Being kidnapped by someone who was even shorter than you wasn't very pleasant, and being forced to go through some sort of hellish orientation after waiting for a hour because said orientation didn't exist until you arrived was even worse. Jack looked like he was making the entire thing up on the spot. Rapunzel guessed she should probably pay attention, but she was reaching a point where she could be hexed with a Shaefter charm and she wouldn't care.

"Hey! Blondie! Listen up, this is important." Rapunzel sighed and looked up. Jack was staring at her with a crooked smirk. He hopped up on a table and slammed his staff down on the floor. Frost spread in all directions, ice tentacles knocking over books, objects and making other boy slip and fall to the ground. Rapunzel knew her eyes were growing wide in shock. It wasn't the work of a master sorcerer, but they needed words, runes, incantations to cast even basic spells.

The girl next to her with the red hair nudged her and said,

"Ach, what's tha baeg deal Blondie? So he made things a wee bit chilly, nothin else. "

Rapunzel turned her back on the girl and shook her head. The girl's clothes were rough and homespun, she was either bluffing or really that stupid.

"As much as I enjoy showing off I did that for a purpose. North tells me that he's thinking about keeping you alive. That's great. Now if you want to stay living abd breathing please state your name, what you can do really well and wheither you are morally opposed to being a criminal or not."

The outspoken redhead went first.

"Me name's Merida, M'talents at shootin stuff and I won't work for ye if it involves thieving. I'd raether die than become a common criminal." Jack let loose a pained sigh. He looked like he wanted to ram his head into a wall multiple times.

"I found it, there's a difference." Jack muttered before saying in a louder voice, "Points for truthfulness. Points taken away for being so moral. And so blunt. And so annoying. But don't worry. We'll convert you. Next!" A long silence stretched out. Apparently no one else wanted to speak. The white haired boy let out another pained sigh and spun around randomly with his eyes closed. Finally he stopped, his finger pointing at Rapunzel. "C'mon, out with it." He said. Rapunzel opened her mouth and said nervously,

"My name's Rapunzel, I'm good at painting and I wouldn't really like to steal from people, it's not very nice." Her voice trailed off towards the end so it was barely audible. Somehow Jack still heard her.

"What did you say?" Jack smirked. "Not very nice? Are we in kindergarten now? The world isn't nice, it's ugly. Now, next person. You there, slouching in the corner. Personally, I would rather join you, but if I have to suffer so does everyone else."

The boy's mouth was moving but no one could hear what he was saying. After a few moments he repeated himself, this time significantly louder.

"My name's Hiccup and I'm good with tinkering I guess. I… er… I mean, I guess I would steal if maybe it was from a person wasn't needing money. Like if they had money to spare, and I needed it." Jack looked surprised for a few seconds. He leaned in to take a closer look at the boy. Rapunzel herself was surprised. The boy didn't seem like the type to steal. Hiccup had shaggy brown hair, green eyes and a smattering of freckles across his nose. He wore a green plaid shirt, a dirty looking T-shirt and jeans- not exactly city elite but not ignorant country boy either. The only thing that made him look different from an everyday boy was a bone tooth necklace he had around his throat. From the people Rapunzel had spied from her tower using a telescope boys didn't wear jewelry. Why would he agree to being a thief? He didn't exactly look like the criminal type.

Then again, Rapunzel herself wasn't really knowledgeable in the criminal area. Flynn had looked like a thief when she met him, tousled hair, dirty clothes and a sly smirk. Almost like Jack, she thought. Almost, but not quite. Jack had a glint of wistfulness, in his eyes, while Flynn had only had ambition. Enough ambition to leave someone behind, apparently.

"Why are you not opposed to stealing when your fellow orientees are so passionately denying any possibility of stealing? Is this a rebel I hear? Somewhat pathetic looking but a rebel nonetheless?" Hiccup looked down at his Converse, embarrassed.

"Where I'm from its how we survive." He didn't elaborate but Rapunzel could tell that Jack was curious. He hopped off the table and stood in front of Hiccup.

"Where are you from exactly?" When Hiccup didn't respond Jack rolled his eyes. "Look, you'll end up with us for a long, long time. You clearly didn't have a home when Phil found you from what North told me, so we're your family now. You have to tell us. " Hiccup looked up in response to what Jack had said, anger burning in his eyes.

"Like you have a home. I know your type, pickpockets trying to get enough to eat so they won't have to go to bed hungry for the second day in a row, sleeping on the streets. Don't talk to me about having a family, you don't have one." Hiccup did have a point- the fact that Jack was only wearing tattered pants that had ragged edges and relied on some kind of string holding them up and a worn hoodie didn't make him look trustworthy. He did look homeless despite the fact he was clearly at home in the extravagant building.

Rapunzel heard a muffled gasp from Merida before she stepped in front of Hiccup protectively. They clearly knew each other before they were taken here. The fire in Hiccup's eyes frightened Rapunzel a little. Hiccup didn't look like he was the type to get angry. Jack faltered for a few moments, pain clear in his eyes before he snarled,

"I had a family, yeah, and I steal to survive, who cares? If I didn't I would be just another corpse on the streets. All of you are runaways, you don't have anywhere else to go. You-" Jack pointed at Merida, "-are running away from something. A person, a place, the reason you came here was to start over. You didn't have any friends to go to, you were on your own. And you there Blondie, you were lying to Tooth when you said you were from another city visiting your aunt, lying when you said that you had a rich aunt who was looking for you. I'm guessing no one's looking for you. You just disappeared." The last part Jack said softly, compassion clear in his eyes. Rapunzel tried to look uncaring because what he said was untrue. Someone was looking for her, just not the person she wanted to find her.

"So Hiccup, if, I'm sorry if you don't trust me. 'Cuz now you're stuck with me, and North. And you might as well tell me now, save yourself the extra work." Hiccup didn't really look moved by Jack's rant but he sighed and spoke anyway.

"I'm from Berk. Don't expect you to have heard of it. I... my family's legacy is stealing, breaking promises, killing. And hurting. My dad… he… hurt me and after a while I couldn't stand it anymore. So I left."

Jack didn't laugh this time. The silence stretched out awkwardly, only punctured by Merida coughing. After what felt like forever Jack spoke.

"Great. Well now that therapy sharing time is over we can move onto the big stuff." Merida snorted at the therapy part but Jack ignored her. "The Burgress works is that legally there are five Lords or Ladies of the City that rule over the rich. Somewhat illegally there are five Lords or Ladies of Crime- North is one of them- that rule the underground and criminal activities. Some of them are more likable than others. For example, Toothiana is absolutely vicious when it comes to her enemies- no one knows why she collects teeth but everyone knows it's deadly- but to her friends she's actually very friendly. They all have certain territory boundaries, I pick pockets in North's territory, Bunnymund works as a assassin in Tooth's territory. I get protection from North but in return I have to give him a cut of my earnings. So yes Hiccup, occasionally I go without my dinner. But since I am very, very good at what I do it's a really rare occurrence. The other three Lord and Ladies you don't need to worry about, they're not really important in the grand scheme of things. Tooth, North, Bunny, Sandy and I are in this group we call the Guardians. We watch out for the children of the city." Merida snorted loudly and glared at Jack. He ignored her.

"Since apparently most of you have a extreme aversion to thieving you could be in the Guardians- the fact that you all like kids is part of why you were chosen. That and the fact that you guys are technically not adults yet makes it so they can't kill you and in anything useful you'd be absolutely useless. So to end this long, boring monologue that North made me memorize in ten minutes please recite the following words.'

'Will you, insert name here, vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams. For they are that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be." There was a long silence. Rapunzel wanted to believe Jack and if what he said was true then she could help children. Maybe help them avoid the life she'd led. Maybe do something good in the world for once. It would be better than being hung for being a thief, she guessed. Maybe these people would know about Flynn. Maybe they could help her find him, if only to hit him over the head with a frying pan. She was intimidated by the silence but she stepped forward and said,

"I, Rapunzel, vow to watch over the children of the world. To guard them with my life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams. For they are that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be." Jack smiled at her, a real smile with warmth in it and Rapunzel smiled back. It felt good even if she said it partially to find Flynn.

After her Hiccup stepped forward and said proudly,

"I, Hiccup, vow to watch over the children of the world. To guard them with my life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams. For they are that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be." Jack tried to fist bump him, but he ended up accidently punching him in the stomach.

"Well? Red? Whaddya say?" Merida looked pained for a few seconds before she said,

"Ach, aye, but only 'cuz of tha wee children. Not because I trust yeh. I, Merida, vow to watch over the children of the world. To guard them with my life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams. For they are that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be."

Jack beamed happily. He walked over to the two doors and swung them open. Bunny almost fell over and North tried to look like he was examining his shoe. Tooth tried to edge into the shadows and a small man with bright gold hair that must be Sandy looked abashed.

"They were listenin ta everything we said!" Merida said, shocked. She opened her mouth to say more but North almost chocked her in a huge hug.

"Welcome to family!" he roared. "Now time to celebrate!"

_I want to explain why Rapunzel is so heartbroken over Flynn. She sees him as the person who rescued her from her abusive mother, so she developed a very strong attachment to him. As a result him leaving her really crushed her. Doyou like it? Please review, favorite and follow!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey guys! So I'm glad you all like the story :D I can't type out all your names but I just want to say that you reviewing meant a lot to me. _

_I'm trying to make my chapters longer… but it's hard. This chapter is more of a filler, so forgive me for making it so short. So I was just wondering how many people wanted me to continue this story. I'm considering changing courses and creating a Big Four Goes to Hogwarts themed story instead, but if you want to keep this story that I will._

_FYI, Insugs is because I couldn't think of anything else for the YETIs. Just assume Insugs is some sort of species that is like a human only tougher and more hairy. Also, Jack's sister's name is Emma because that's what I feel like her name is. I don't know why, but Emma feels more right than Pippa or Mary._

_TO clear up some confusion, Rapunzel, Jack, Hiccup and Merida will all have their points of view represented. However, the order isn't set. If I feel one character needs to talk more that the others than they will. It's not set in stone and it's rather flexible, sorry about that. _

**Jack**

The welcoming feast was huge, and as a result everyone wasn't up for much moving after. Jack felt kind of annoyed, actually. North didn't really spring for such a lavish array when he became a guardian. Instead he got tossed in a sack. Then again, there hadn't been an orientation either. Jack smirked. Bunny's fur was frozen for a week after. He sighed. Honestly he was starting to feel a little restless- it was time to get out.

North was lying on the floor, his beard full of food and his swords splayed next to him. After a halfhearted kick in the stomach Jack determined that North would only be wakened by one of the YETIs (Young Energetic Tough Insugs). They were the only ones that could dump a bucket of cold water on his head and not get killed.

One of the YETIs, Phil, was standing at the door. He glared at Jack, which meant that he clearly had not forgiven him for the one time that he had tried to sneak in the Workshop and steal something. One time that ended with Jack being tossed into the streets with his hair dyed orange. Luckily Jack's hair was made of tougher stuff and for some reason the next day all the color had washed out, leaving him with the familiar silver hue.

"I'm going out. Tell North that I'll be back soon." Phil grunted, which Jack took to be a yes. It was probably a no, but seeing as Phil's vocabulary was severely limited Jack figured he had a 50/50 chance of understanding the YETI.

As soon as he was outside the cool air made Jack feel better. The wind energized him more than the hot, stuffy room inside had.

A little girl ran after a older boy down the street where Jack was standing. A feeling of sadness swept over the fun loving teen. He sighed. At least the kids had reminded him that there was something he had to do.

Jack ran down the street and into the marketplace. It was the best place to pick pockets, since so many people were around that it was virtually impossible to be caught. Of course, there was actually a thought process Jack went through when he was selecting a victim. He didn't steal from the poor, or the hungry looking. Also, it was generally a good idea to weed out the shrewd looking women and men who _wanted _someone to try and steal from them because they had recently gotten their pockets charmed.

After a few seconds Jack zeroed in on his target. She was a girl who was wearing nice clothing, so she was obviously middle class. Jack slipped into the crowd and tapped his staff on the ground. The result was a patch of ice that made the girl stumble. As soon as she stumbled Jack was there, bumping into her side some more so she'd fall. His fingers slipped into the picket of her jeans, grabbed the cash and disappeared into the crowd. Jack sprinted away once he was far enough from her. As soon as he got into a alley he opened his hand. Money- lots of it. More than the she should have reasonably needed for a simple schoolgirl's shopping trip. Shrugging, Jack decided that the subject wasn't really worth his interest. He smirked. That girl had just saved him a few hours worth of work.

He knew the city well, slipping in and out of streets until Jack was standing in front of a small house. It was rundown, windows with cracked glass, but someone was making quite a bit of an effort to keep it clean. A flowerpot was on the porch stoop. Jack circled around to the back of the house and jumped onto a dumpster. From there he clambered up to the second story window and picked the lock. He left half of the money lying on the bedroom table.

Jack's mission accomplished, his mood lifted. Smirking, he slipped back into the alleyway confident that no one had seen what had happened.

He was wrong.

The girl whose pocket had been picked looked up at the house with dark eyes. She waited until Jack was in the frame, then lifted her phone and snapped a picture.

"Got him." She said into a earpiece. "Now what?" The reply was crackled and hard to understand, but the accent was distinctly British.

"Follow him to North's. Then leave a message. It's time for North to understand what being forgotten feels like."

_Ooooh! I try to make a cliffhanger! Again, sorry for this chapter being so short. I feel like I'm growing out of touch with Jack's character, so I'm going watch some more trailers. Yup, that's what I do. I don't watch the movies all over again, I watch the trailers to get more in touch with the characters :D_

_Also, as a sidenote, Jack is sixteen, Rapunzel is fifteen, Hiccup is fifteen and Merida is fourteen and a half, as she loves to remind people._


	5. Chapter 5

_So… I have follows and faves but no reviews? This is kind of perplexing, but fear not, I shall write on. And on. And on. Until I hit the unavoidable writers block, in which case I will smash it with the belief of all my readers :D Oh, and to clear this up. Stuff happens after events in Tangled, before events in HTTYD and Merida runs away during the events of Brave. As for ROTG, like the events of the movie but in this AU._

_I updated my profile, you guys can check it out if you want. There's more info on where the stories are going to go, etc. I no longer sound like a tween girl. This is progress. I also try do accents. Guys, I'm sorry if it sounds weird. The Aussie slang is authentic and the Scottish is… is… ugh. *bangs head into computer* CURSE YOU MERIDA._

_Guys. Please. Reviews. Please, please, please review. Can I improve? Can I do better?I need to know! Thanks!_

**Rapunzel**

According to Tooth, she would be more help in the potions laboratory than picking pockets with Jack or learning to kill with Bunny. This was a somewhat debatable topic, Rapunzel learned as she ruined a potion for the eighth time. Tooth sighed in frustration, her short dark hair swinging as she shook her head for the umpteenth time. Rapunzel could tell she was debating sending her to someone else or dealing with her. According to Tooth, she held great potential. Another, less voiced opinion was her unfortunate ability to break almost anything.

Tooth sighed, then said in a resigned voice,

"Rapunzel- go to Sandy's workshop. He might have more luck with you there." Rapunzel nodded, her long blonde hair catching in one of the beakers. A shimmering green liquid spilled all over her hair.

"No-" Tooth screeched as she darted forward. She managed to catch the beaker, but a single drop fell into her hair. The lock it fell on turned a vibrant purple. "Just go, okay? It's to the left, next street over." Rapunzel sighed. She felt horrible for messing up months of Tooth's work but she also was having some problems with justifying her work with a bunch of criminals. Rapunzel walked out of the lab into a small dark alleyway. The streetlights were flickering on and off, giving creeping Rapunzel out as she walked up to a set of steel doors. Bracing herself for the worst, Rapunzel swung them open.

To her shock the room was large and spacious, warm and lit by golden chandeliers. Sandy, a small short man in the center of the room, was inscribing objects with glittering gold swirls. In the corners of the room huge bags of a warm sand spilled out onto the floor. Beakers and distilleries on the sides turned the sand into a beautiful golden paint.

"Hi." She said tentatively. "Tooth sent me here to, er, help?" Sandy beamed at her, then ushered her into center of the room with him. "So," Rapunzel said, her spirits lifted by the gorgeous room, "What can I do to help?" Sandy pointed to a pot of the golden paint. Rapunzel frowned, puzzled by his silence.

"You mean you want me to paint?" Sandy smiled again and handed her a brush and a simple jean jacket. Rapunzel looked over at what Sandy was painting and tried to tentatively paint a swirl. The small man frowned and shook his head. He tapped his heart and pointed at the jacket. Feeling unsure, Rapunzel tried to relax and enjoy painting a beautiful gold sun on the edge of the jacket. As soon as she was done the gold faded so it was almost invisible. Now she could only see it if she tilted her head a certain way.

Sandy beamed again. He then frowned for a few seconds, thinking. After a short pause the golden man handed Rapunzel a notebook. He took a pencil from the canister in from of them and scribbled in a flowing cursive,

_Now focus on the intent, what you want the purpose to be. Is it protection? Luck? Warmth or happiness?_

Rapunzel's mouth dropped open.

"You could write all along!" she said, playfully flicking a glob of the golden paint at Sandy. To her surprise the paint never hit the outside of his jacket. Instead it seemed to hit a invisible force-field that prevented it from reaching the jacket. Grinning, Sandy took the notebook back and wrote,

_My purpose just so happens to be cleanliness._

Rapunzel giggled in surprise before turning back to the jacket. She concentrated on protection as she painted the jacket with swirls, suns and a large lion for protection. Her brow furrowed in concentration, Rapunzel dipped her brush into the pot of paint again and again. Finally, grinning, she lifted the finished jacket up after what felt like a few minutes. Sandy saw her results and beamed. He wrote,

_Beautiful! Now put it on and come up so you can get your rooms sorted out. I thought you would never finish! _

Rapunzel frowned. "How long have I been down here?" she said.

_Only for a few hours._ Sandy wrote. _It's not that bad, considering. It usually takes me a couple of days to create a garment with that level of protection. You're doing very well. _

Rapunzel grinned, basking in the praise. She skipped outside eagerly wearing her new jacket over her purple tank top. She was delighted, so entering the cold, harsh outside. She knew the way to the meeting hall well by now, confidently turning in the streets without any fear. If anyone thought about making a move towards her they just saw Sandy behind her and drew back into the shadows. Finally she reached the Meeting Hall. Hiccup was there, as was Jack and Merida- oh my god, Rapunzel thought. Someone had swapped out her homespun clothing for a tank top, cargo pants and combat boots. With her bow and her wild hair she looked like she was ready to shoot at any minute.

"You are finally here!" North boomed delightedly. "We have to figure room assignments!" Bunny rolled his eyes but Tooth jumped up and down excitedly. She looked like it was Christmas or something. Sandy looked sleepy and Bunny just looked bored. Jack elbowed Bunny and whispered something in his ear. He jumped up, a look of absolute horror on his face. Merida snickered next to Rapunzel, and whispered something to Hiccup. She was feeling a little left out when North continued, "Jack explain system to you, yes?" Rapunzel nodded, as did Hiccup and Merida.

"Ace, ya little anke-biters. Now, we 'ave system a little different from whatever yer came from. We don't do bunkin together. Ya get ta place by yerself. North here, the big bloke, 'as decided that we're ta take ya in fer a few nights until ya get yerself situated. So we're gonna draw some names." He pointed to a fishball where several slips of paper were nestled.

"Sandy and North are excluded, because they have to concentrate. But I'm open!" Tooth beamed happily, no trace of the stressed Amerasian woman that Rapunzel had seen only a few hours earlier. Tooth stuck her hand into the bowl and fished around for a few seconds before coming up with a slip of paper. She read it, then said joyfully,

"Merida! Come with me!" Merida cast a panicked look at Hiccup before saying,

"Er, Ah thaink Ah canna go wiath yeh. Maeybe Hiaccup and Ah can be togaether?" Rapunzel noticed her accent got noticeably thicker when she got nervous. Tooth shook her head and beamed.

"Nope! You and me, girls night out. I know I have some potions that can tame that hair of yours." Merida opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Bunny. He had grabbed a paper out of the bowl already.

"Ah, corker, I got 'iccup. Roight, lad, come with me." Hiccup looked at Merida with wide eyes but she shrugged helplessly, already being dragged outside. Which left only Jack for Rapunzel.

"I don't even have to pull a piece of paper out." He said, smirking. "Come with me." Rapunzel's eyes went wide in shock as he grabbed her hand and began to pull her to the door.

"Get your hands off of me!" she screeched.

"Or what? Blondie." He said. They had just cleared the doorway when they heard a loud blast from the room where they were just standing. Surprisingly there was no rubble, just the loud noise that left their ears ringing. Jack pushed her outside before heading back inside. Rapunzel went against her better judgment and followed him inside. North was standing stock still, his face drained of color. It was unusual to see the jolly Russian quiet, but everything was deathly still as he watched a long stream of black smoke form a sinuous tentacle. It began to spread, turning the bright cheery meeting hall into a destroyed place. The lights flickered out, the walls turning black. There was a circle around North that retained it's color ad festivity, but everything around his was barren and dark. Thankfully the smoke didn't extend far out enough to Jack and Rapunzel.

"Hello old friend." A voice rang out. North's face regained some color as he sputtered,

"How dare you. Show yourself Kathaerin" The smoke paused, then continued to coil. The female voice said,

"Oh my, are you scared? I'm sorry I'm not all for your cause now. I have other things to attend to. There's one thing I've found about being in exile. I no longer care about the children. They're such useless things. Why do we really need them?"

North's voice was barely audible when he whispered,

"Kathaerin. No. Hurt someone else don't hurt them-" The voice laughed, a light airy sound that sounded very, very wrong.

"You really think this about the children don't you? Well you'll learn soon enough, I suppose."

_Cliffie! Hah! Sorry loyal followers. Also, Kathaerin is indeed Katherine from the William Joyce books. I hope you guys enjoy! Please review, fave or follow! Until next week!_


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